Mining magnate Patrice Motsepe paid Spanish powerhouses Barcelona €3-million (almost R45-million) to make the one-day trip to South Africa to play against Mamelodi Sundowns at FNB Stadium on Wednesday night‚ it has emerged.

This figure was revealed by the Spanish press, which reported that it excluded the costs for the chartered plane that left Barcelona on Tuesday night with business-class seating for the 21 players and the rest of the staff.

The cost of the trip to SA had been the subject of furious speculation for days. Some reports suggested that Motsepe paid about R105-million to convince Barcelona to come to SA.